KQED's Forum

In 2019 a PG&E volt transmission line failed, starting the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, and two years later, PG&E power lines sparked what became the Dixie Fire, the largest wildfire in California’s history. On Monday, the utility company reached a settlement of $55 million which allows it to escape criminal liability stemming from those fires. We’ll talk with Marketplace reporter Lily Jamali about the settlement and where the money will go.

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“A post-Roe world will not resemble a pre-Roe world,” writes Jessica Bruder in her recent Atlantic piece on how underground networks of abortion activists are deploying medical and educational tactics to prepare for what they say will be the Supreme Court’s all but certain decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. A number of states have already approved highly restrictive abortion laws, including most recently Oklahoma, which last week moved to ban all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Meanwhile, Gov. Newsom has declared California a “reproductive freedom state,” and advocates have created the California Future of Abortion Council to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. We’ll hear from Bruder and activists about how they’re preparing for a post-Roe world and the role California will play.

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As the war in Ukraine enters its sixth week, stories of mounting human rights abuses and grisly images of civilians, seemingly executed and left to die in the streets, have shocked the world. According to Ukrainian officials, in Bucha, a suburb outside of Kyiv which was occupied for one month, several hundred civilians have been killed and in their retreat, Russian forces engaged in a spree of killing, raping and looting. Officials say these crimes were not limited to Bucha, but represent a consistent pattern of Russian warfare tactics meant to terrorize civilians. Addressing the United Nations earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing war crimes and called for the body to convene a tribunal to bring perpetrators to justice. We’ll talk to experts and a reporter on the ground about whether and how these crimes will be prosecuted.

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"The Work-Life Balance and the Selfless Mother are false gods." That's according to law professor and social and racial justice advocate Lara Bazelon, who says that more women need to stop feeling guilty about their professional ambitions and recognize that having a career is not at odds with being a good mother. In fact, women who prioritize their careers can model valuable lessons for their children, including independence and resilience. We'll talk to Bazelon about her new book "Ambitious Like a Mother."

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Last year, KQED's Arts & Culture team launched the music series "Pass the Aux" to spotlight new music by Bay Area artists. Highlights from the series this year have included the elegant vocals of Kadhja Bonet on her song "Dear Gina," the dembow and salsa rhythms of La Dona's "Pena con Pan" and the gentle meditations on love and grief in The Seshen's "This Time Around," among others. KQED Arts columnist and podcast host Pendarvis Harshaw joins us to showcase those tracks and more of the team's favorite early 2022 releases.

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Of the 87 officially recognized statues on public display in San Francisco, only two are of women. When KQED’s Rae Alexandra learned that disappointing fact, she set out to highlight the unsungwomen who helped shape Bay Area history with her series “Rebel Girls.” From a formerly enslaved cook who became a celebrity chef to a pistol-packing Gold Rush gambler who beat men at theirown game, “Rebel Girls” stories remind us how diverse and rich women’s contributions to the Bay Area have been across centuries. Alexandra joins us to highlight some of the amazing women she’s featured in the series.

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California is in its third year of extreme drought. Given that, is it time to rethink California’s role as the breadbasket of the country? Agriculture brought in $49.1 billion to the state, nearly half of which was money made from exporting crops. But agriculture also uses 80% of the state’s water. Last year the industry lost 87,000 jobs, and crop land totaling an area bigger than Los Angeles went unplanted. What crops are reasonable to continue to produce? What should be jettisoned? And what crops and farm practices can be adaptable enough for the dwindling water supply? We’ll talk about the future of agriculture with experts and a farmer in the Central Valley.

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Trump lawyer John Eastman turned over 101 emails on Wednesday to the House select committee investigating the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, in response to an order by California federal judge David Carter who said the communications “clearly advanced the plan to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.” Judge Carter's ruling last week came as the Justice Department widens its investigation into those who may have financed and planned the attacks designed to interfere with Congress's certification of the 2020 election. We'll talk about the latest developments.

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Fresno is launching a pilot program to help protect street vendors from harassment and assault. Councilmembers and community organizations there are teaming up to install cameras on street vendors’ carts and provide them with small business resources. The effort comes a year after the death of Lorenzo Perez, a street vendor who was murdered in April, 2021 while selling corn. We talk with journalist Melissa Montalvo, who reported on the story for the Fresno Bee and Fresno councilmember Luis Chavez, one of the initiative’s leaders.

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Libraries have long been a beloved hub for education and community, but as our state and nation battle crises of growing income inequality, homelessness and mental health, the work of public librarians these days can be just as much about social work as it is about books and information. In the new book “Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library,” author and former librarian Amanda Oliver considers how public libraries have evolved and why they’ve been tasked to fill so many roles in our society. Oliver, who developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder while working as a public librarian in Washington, D.C., asks whether public librarians can – and should – continue to fill the gap in our social safety net. As the country celebrates National Library Week, Oliver and California librarians join us to unpack these questions.

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